There was a magazine article that spoke of a woman who began experiencing stomach trouble in her mid-20s. Her nausea and vomiting were most severe in the morning. Despite undergoing various tests, doctors could not find any physical cause for her symptoms. They always attributed her condition to stress, offering antacids and advice on diet. By the time she was 30, her health had significantly deteriorated. She became weak, thin, and began suffering from bouts of hiccups, mental fog, and blurred vision. Finally, her family insisted she go to the emergency room. There, she described her long history of illness to the attending doctor, who listened intently and asked many questions. After careful consideration, he ordered an MRI, which revealed a benign, slow-growing brain tumor. The patient was stunned, especially since no other doctor diagnosed tumor. It was the patient’s description of morning nausea that gave the doctor his first clue that it was brain related. He suspected that the movement from lying down to sitting up each morning was somehow affecting the flow of cerebrospinal fluid, which led to the MRI that detectedthetumor. “If you just take the time to listen to patients, they’ll tell you what’s going on,” the doctor later remarked. This approach mirrors the practice of the greatest healer of all.
In the gospel story of the woman caught in adultery, Jesus listens carefully to both the woman and her accusers. He then accurately diagnoses the problem: hypocrisy on the part of the accusers. He then prescribes the perfect cure for the accused: forgiveness.